Deck Analysis: Scovillain EX and Darkrai V Combo
With the release of the latest set, a new combo deck featuring Scovillain EX and Darkrai VSTAR has emerged, utilizing the new "Unfair Stamp" card for a disruptive gameplay style. Here's an in-depth look at the deck and its strategy:
Deck Components
- Scovillain EX: The main attacker, known for its disruptive "Two-Headed Crushing" attack. This attack discards cards from your opponent’s hand, capitalizing on a hand reduction strategy.
- Darkrai VSTAR: Supports the deck by enabling re-use of powerful cards like "Unfair Stamp" through its VSTAR ability.
- Unfair Stamp: Reduces your opponent's hand size dramatically, especially potent when combined with Scovillain's attack.
- Support Pokémon:
- Darkrai V: Setup and alternative attacker.
- Bibarel: Provides draw power with "Industrious Incisors" ability.
- Disruption Cards:
- Judge: Resets both players’ hands to four cards, effective at limiting the opponent’s resources.
- Counter Catcher: Useful to target specific threats on the opponent’s bench.
Strategy
The deck's primary strategy revolves around disrupting your opponent’s hand and board state early in the game. The key plays include:
- Early Disruption: Use "Unfair Stamp" and "Judge" to limit your opponent’s hand size, ideally forcing them into a low-resource state by turn two.
- Hand Control: Follow up with Scovillain EX’s "Two-Headed Crushing" attack to further deplete your opponent’s hand, often leaving them with only one card.
- Reusability of Unfair Stamp: Darkrai V enables re-using "Unfair Stamp" to keep your opponent under constant pressure.
- Targeting Key Pokémon: Use "Boss’s Orders" and "Counter Catcher" to snipe crucial Pokémon on your opponent's bench, disrupting their setup even further.
Example Matchup Insights
In matches against popular meta decks such as Lugia V and Chien-Pao ex, the Scovillain deck demonstrated its ability to dominate by effectively reducing their hand size and removing key resources. Notable highlights include:
- Consistently reducing the opponent’s hand to minimal cards using "Unfair Stamp" and Scovillain's attack.
- Effective use of "Judge" to disrupt opponents who rely heavily on specific cards in hand for their strategy (e.g., playsets of energies or important supporter cards).
- Targeting and knocking out support Pokémon like Bibarel, significantly slowing down opponents' card drawing and resource accumulation.
Final Thoughts
This deck showcases a potent control strategy by leveraging Scovillain EX's disruption and Darkrai V's support capabilities. While it may have struggled in certain scenarios to perfectly execute its "Unfair Stamp" combo, the deck still managed to dominate multiple matches through tactical hand and board control.
For those interested in a unique and disruptive deck in today’s meta, this Scovillain EX and Darkrai V combination is worth testing and refining further. Stay tuned for an updated list that could potentially enhance its consistency and effectiveness even more.
